Casper The Friendly Ghost, A Childhood Favorite, Brought Back To Life
Exploring Casper The Friendly Ghost’s Home Town
A childhood favorite of many brought back to life in this day trip to Camden, Maine. The town that inspired many of the locations in the 1995 live-action Casper, a Halloween classic. When I say a town can truly take your breath away many Mainers know it is Camden I speak of, for those who want to explore the untainted beauty of Maine I highly recommend spending a weekend or even just a day trip to this natural beauty. This little town is the place that inspired the fictional town that is Friendship Maine, the hometown of a friendly neighborhood ghost, Casper.
The 1995 movie filming locations were mostly sets made and filmed in Hollywood, however, to capture the true essence of Maine the producers picked a coastal city a couple of hours outside of Portland to film many of the transition scenes.
Welcome to Friendship, Maine- Photo: Casper 1995
The film follows the rollercoaster afterlife of Casper, The Friendly Ghost and his troubles to find love. He peacefully a haunts Whipstaff Manor while this three outrageous uncles, Fatso, Stinky, and Stretch are less than peaceful. Rather, they enjoy scaring whoever dares step foot in their self proclaimed home and regularly travel the world to scare who ever they so choose.
Whipstaff Manor In The Distance- Photo: Casper 1995
That is until the friendly and not so friendly ghosts afterlives are turned upside down when therapist to the dead Dr. James Harvey (Bill Pullman) and his teenage daughter Kat (Christina Ricci) move into Whipstaff on request from Carrigan Crittenden, the new owner of the manor who had tried many times to rid the mansion of the ghosts felt she had no other option but to call Dr. Harvey.
Karaoke Bar In Friendship, Maine- Photo: Casper 1995
Little did Dr. Harvey know that Casper would fall head over heels for Kat. The sweet Romeo and Juliet type love will be put the test when a sudden tragedy falls on Dr. Harvey and Kat. The ultimate choice must be made and it falls on the head of a sweet young ghost, Casper, who only wants to find love in his afterlife. The Karaoke bar in the photo above is the place Dr. Harvey and his new pals, three ghosts, go to blow off some steam. NO SPOILERS HERE.
Guide to Exploring Caspers Home Town
This adventure was a day trip for me but could be spread out into a wonderful weekend getaway for the family or individually. It took me a collective of six hours in driving time there and back with two hours of exploration.
Start Location: Welcome to Friendship, Maine (Camden Public Library Park), 55 Main St, Camden, ME 04843
Latitude: 44.211580
Longitude: -69.064550
-According to LatLog.net
This is the location where the road into Friendship, Maine is said to be set.
Walking Time: 1 Minute (482.3 feet)
Next Location: The Karaoke Bar, (Marriners Restaurant), 35 Main St, Camden, ME 04843
Latitude: 44.210380
Longitude: -69.064590
-According to LatLog.net
This location is the Karaoke Bar Dr. James Harvey, Strech, Fatso, and Stinky drink their sorrows away and bond over the troubles of life… and afterlife.
Drive Time: 3 Minutes (1.3 Miles)
Last Location: Whipstaff Manor-In The Distance (Camden Hills State Park) 280 Belfast Rd, Camden, ME 04843
Latitude: 44.228180
Longitude: -69.049330
-According to LatLog.net
This location is a distance shot of where Whipstaff Manor is supposedly set, there is a difficulty in finding the actual location due to the fact the manor was a set in Hollywood. But none the less this location had some stunning views and even though the sky’s don’t match, this offshoot of seemed to be the closest in terms of cliffside and water location.
Take-A-Way From This Ghost Inspired Adventure
The drive for me was about two hours to Camden and two hours home. The drive itself was worth trip, not pictured here, I drove through a handful of small towns along the river and my jaw dropped each time. The drive is similar to driving through mountains towns in Colorado (my home state) but instead of just mountains you get mountains , a river, and beautiful houses. Downtown Camden, embodies the essence of Maine and I would love to buy a place there and spend my days watching the boats in the mariana. Plus they have art festivals pretty often. This is a place for me, one day Camden, one day.
For more Movie Locations in Maine, check out my guide to Stephen Kings 1989 Pet Sematary here.
